8th Grade Teaching Materials for NGSS

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Converting Metric Units

Can any of you convert cubic-inches to gallons in your head? I didn’t think so. Can any of you convert liters to milliliters in your head? Yes, you all can! Metric conversions are actually very simple; you just need to learn the steps.

If you’re wondering you far 4 km is in meters, it’s a pretty simple conversion. First, find the starting point (kilometers are on the top step of the ladder). Second, count how many jumps downward are required to get to meters (three). And lastly, move the decimal to the right three times, just like your movement down the ladder. The answer? 4 km = 4000 meters.

This trick works with any metric conversion within the same family of units. You can convert meters to kilometers, or centimeters to millimeters. You can’t, however, convert meters to grams. That would be silly 😉